Cineplex Odeon

Symbolic structures usually dominate the hills of cities--for example, the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Sacre Coeur Basilica on the Butte Montmartre in Paris, Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. And now in Los Angeles, it's the 18-screen, 5,940-seat Cineplex Odeon sitting atop Universal City. Certainly it is only fitting that what has been billed as the world's largest cinema complex be built on a hill in this city of movie dreams.

Sony Corp. of America and Canada's Cineplex Odeon said Tuesday that they will merge their movie theater operations into a chain that will boast of being the world's largest, with about $1 billion in annual revenue. News of the deal comes as theater owners are under increasing pressure to consolidate to save on costs, gain clout with distributors and finance large-scale expansion projects such as complexes with stadium-style seating and state-of-the-art technology.

Toronto-based Cineplex said its Los Angeles-based affiliate, Plitt Theatres, has agreed to pay about $11 million (Canadian) for Septum Theatre Circuit. Most of Septum's 48 theater screens are located in the Atlanta area, with 16 more screens currently under construction. Plitt operates 23 screens in the Atlanta market.

Cineplex Odeon Corp. said it may merge its movie theaters with Sony Corp.'s Loews Theater Group in a transaction that would strengthen its position in the United States and Canada. Terms weren't disclosed. Analyst Chris Dixon of PaineWebber Inc. valued the transaction at between $350 million and $400 million. Current shareholders would remain in the combined entity, Cineplex said. Seagram Co.'s Universal Studios Inc.

The company, one of North America's largest motion picture exhibitors, said it has filed an action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for damages and an injunction against Paramount Pictures and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group seeking to restrain Paramount from distributing De Laurentiis' films in Canada. Cineplex contends that its Canadian film distribution company had already secured a two-year agreement to distribute De Laurentiis films in Canada.

Six months after a nasty brawl with his major shareholder, the intrepid chairman of Cineplex Odeon Corp. on Tuesday reached an agreement with his outside directors to proceed with a takeover bid for the company. The bid is valued at nearly $16.50 per share (Canadian), or almost $14 in U.S. currency, according to sources familiar with the Toronto movie-theater concern. The bid would be worth about $700 million (U.S.), and the buyer would also assume about $600 million in debt.

Cineplex Odeon Corp., North America's second-largest movie theater company, formally went on the auction block Thursday with the announcement that financial data has been assembled for interested bidders. The action--initiated by a special committee of Cineplex directors--is the upshot of a fierce battle for control waged two months ago by Cineplex's co-founder and chairman, Garth H. Drabinsky. The auction appears certain to be a hot topic at Cineplex's twice-postponed shareholder meeting, now set for June 30 in Toronto.

Cineplex Odeon Theatres in Los Angeles has raised its ticket prices by 50 cents to $7.50, and ushers may have to ask for combat pay because moviegoers aren't happy about it. "Fifty percent of the people complain. Some of them get angry and ask to see the manager," said Victor Hahn, who works in the ticket window at the Cineplex in Universal City. "I'm sure the manager can tell you some pretty unique stories about (customer reactions)."

Cineplex Odeon Corp. and Cinemark USA Inc. announced plans Thursday to merge the two movie theater chains into one company that would dominate the industry. The stock swap and cash deal, valued at about $300 million, would create a combined company called Cineplex International that would operate 519 movie theaters with 2,839 screens, surpassing United Artists as the largest theater chain in North America.

Universal Studios has agreed to buy the luxurious, 18-screen Universal City Cinemas complex from the debt-ridden Cineplex Odeon Corp. for $45 million, the exhibitor announced Monday. The state-of-the-art facility, which sits on a hill overlooking the MCA/Universal headquarters and the popular Universal Studios tour, would be acquired by Universal by Sept. 26 under the terms of the deal. Cineplex Odeon would continue to manage the theater complex through its subsidiary, Plitt Theatres Inc.

Cineplex Odeon Corp. and Cinemark USA Inc. announced plans Thursday to merge the two movie theater chains into one company that would dominate the industry. The stock swap and cash deal, valued at about $300 million, would create a combined company called Cineplex International that would operate 519 movie theaters with 2,839 screens, surpassing United Artists as the largest theater chain in North America.

August 9, 1993 | SHERYL LEE RALPH, Ralph is a wife, mother, community activist and actress, who appeared in "The Distinguished Gentleman" and will co-star in the new ABC sitcom "George." She is co-chair of L.A.'s Young Black Professionals and is on the Greek Theatre Advisory Board

I was very disturbed when I discovered that the Cineplex Odeon was not going to open the Western film "Posse" back in May. I felt possibly it was a racist move, but I didn't want to be too sensitive.

Rita Walters and the rest of the Los Angeles City Council have resolved that Cineplex Odeon Corp.'s decision not to show "Poetic Justice" on its opening weekend "shows an extreme lack of sensitivity and should be protested" (July 28). Fine, protest this decision at the box office by purchasing a ticket at a theater chain that does screen "Poetic Justice." Cineplex Odeon is a private enterprise, and is free to show whatever movies its management chooses for whatever reasons they deem economically viable.

July 28, 1993 | KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, Karen Grigsby Bates writes from Los Angeles about modern culture, race relations and politics for several national publications.

I grew up in (nominally) integrated New England, but like many African-American children with Southern roots, I went South for part of every summer. I am not quite old enough to remember physical separation, one of the most enduring legacies of the segregated South's love affair with Jim Crow, because the adults in my life protected me from this ugly reality.

The Cineplex Odeon movie theater chain said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with its banks that allows the company to defer principal payments until mid-1992. The preliminary four-year agreement also allows the company to hold onto assets that were to be sold under a previous loan agreement. Cineplex had been committed to selling $160 million (U.S.) in assets by Sept. 30. The company had raised $120 million (U.S.) by selling U.S. theater properties.

Universal Studios has agreed to buy the luxurious, 18-screen Universal City Cinemas complex from the debt-ridden Cineplex Odeon Corp. for $45 million, the exhibitor announced Monday. The state-of-the-art facility, which sits on a hill overlooking the MCA/Universal headquarters and the popular Universal Studios tour, would be acquired by Universal by Sept. 26 under the terms of the deal. Cineplex Odeon would continue to manage the theater complex through its subsidiary, Plitt Theatres Inc.